While we have covered and hopefully conveyed the positive experiences of cruising on board ORIANA however today the UK media has instead been covering a less enticing fact of cruising yet one which is none the less a fact of life on board the world's cruise ships Norovirus
According to an 'exclusive' by the London based tabloid Newspaper The Sun "Cruise ship passengers were last night threatening a mutiny'' over the outbreak of Norovirus (also known in the United Kingdom as the Winter Vomiting Bug) on board ORIANA.
The report continues by saying that "Crew members taped off areas of the ship “like a crime scene” and the liner smelt of sick, according to trippers on board"
Although there seems to be little or no comfirmation either by the afore mentioned passengers or P&O itself to substantiate this claim made by the journalist.
Elsewhere on board disgruntled passengers it is said from a reliable source on board, have been holding meetings to discuss the situation and what they consider the senior officers lack of response and the Captain's accusation that it was a passenger that has brought it on board with the threat that some may refuse to leave when ORIANA docks on Friday.
As mentioned above and as anyone with experience with cruise ships will tell you Norovirus is a fact of life on board due to the nature of a ship, it is effectively a confined environment and illness does tend to spread at a seemingly alarming rate in such an environment.
The reports in the media from those on board claim that the cruise has been "disrupted" and "it is the cruise from hell" and so on,
While others are upset by the manner in which the infection has been handled. such as closing The Conservatory buffet and restricting times for Breakfast and lunch and alternating between the main restaurants all of which are prudent action to avoid unnecessary contact with surfaces which could cause further infection.
Passengers who have been infected have also been confined to their own cabins during the time to recuperate, a practice that passengers are also been unhappy with yet one which is industry standard and indeed the best way to try and halt the spread of the virus.
Unpopular Decisions
From most of the reports in the media passengers dissatisfaction on board stems from the stringent procedures on board passenger Denise Weston, 60, said that it was the worst cruise she has been on, out of 40 to 50 sailings, purely on the basis because of the measures in place.
She also added "We paid good money for this,"
To understand the measures and there necessity in place on board we must fist look at the virus and it's effects.
Norovirus is one of several viruses from the Calicivirdae family of viruses which is very contagious and can be transmitted by contact with an infected surface or by person to person contact.
In the United Kingdom it is most common cause gastroenteritis and is most apparent during the winter months.
Since the most common method of transmission on board a cruise ship is by tactile contact such as with a handrail or stairway banister.
It therefore stands to reason that during an outbreak the already stringent cleaning is scaled up with handrails etc being cleaned at more regular intervals than during normal conditions .
Understandably restaurants are some of the most frequented rooms on board which increases the chance of the virus being passed on in the venues, hence it is obvious that by reducing the time the room is open it gives the crew the necessary time to disinfect the various surfaces passengers come in contact with there from the table lamps to the tables and chairs among others before it is used again an operation which can not take place when the room is in use.
With all the will and cleaning procedures available there is still one variable which causes the spread of the virus despite all of the company's efforts, and that is the passengers.
Despite frequent reminders on board around health and hygiene specifically hand washing after using the public toilets is not practiced by a small percentage of passengers.
There have been some claims by passengers that the source of the infection was during the preceding cruise with passengers claiming that the virus was brought on board during one of the port's of call in the Atlantic, according to one passenger members of the crew were still suffering when the passengers embarked.
Exactly how passengers know this is somewhat of mystery since any effected crew member would be confined to their cabin and it is unlikely that any crew member would mention such a thing in front of passengers.
It is far more likely the virus was indeed brought on board by a embarking passenger a point of view which is shared by both Captain Camby and the Southampton port health authority however sadly not shared by the some passengers who feel the company wish to shift blame to them.
Despite passenger's objections if we look closer at facts available to us they do indeed support the view that a passenger was responsible for it being brought on board the ship.
At present there is an 72 % increase of Norovirus in the UK with schools and hospital wards being closed due to infection it is expected that by the end of winter there will have been 750,000 cases diagnosed , with passengers having travelled from all over the country there is a high probability that some would have either come in contact with a person infected or surface contaminated with the virus.
With the virus being such a common occurrence of cruise ship's of all companies and sizes why then has this case made to an exclusive in a top selling newspaper?
The answer of the question in its basic form is human nature, to be more specific in this case that of the passengers on board.
This particular story only being brought to the attention of the media by a passenger on board who is unhappy with the situation who chose to contact a newspaper.
The Sun newspaper itself is now well known for relaying exclusive news in an attempt to beat its competitors often at the expense of factual accuracy then like vicious a chain once one newspaper breaks the story it will undoubtedly be picked by another with more 'detail' often worse than the original source.
This has been played out with other papers and media with headlines such as "Plague ship''
From what can be understood from the various reports in the media at present is their sources on board are far from telling the same story, one reviewer named only as Andrea B posted on a website that "passengers were warned by a letter left in their cabin that there had been an outbreak of norovirus on the previous sailing. Completely contrasting views making the truth somewhat blurred.
According to both P&O and The Southampton Port Health Authority ORIANA upon arriving tomorrow the ship will under ago a deep clean to ensure that any possible trace of the virus is removed before embarking her next passengers from 3PM onwards
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